Reply #3: But wait -- there's more! [View All]

Here's the "punchline":

But why Americans do not demand to have railroad service all over the nation is one of the abiding mysteries of these crack-up years.

My mother recently went to visit my brother and his family and took the train from Philadelphia to Orlando, as she does twice a year, and has done for the past several years. Over that period of time, prices have increased brutally, and service has declined just as much.

It's a day-long trip; this time, the train was an hour late into Philly, and ten hours late into Orlando. This time, there wasn't even the pretense of being good employees: The staff all complained openly about the Republicans, Conservatism, and Bush. One passenger said to no one in particular, "Damn that President Bush!" and within five minutes, over a dozen people, including staff, had joined in.

And David Gunn was recently fired with prejudice in spite of improving both service and profitability, and the budget for next year has been slashed again.

It's just one little piece of our Great National Suicide.

--p!